[3.5] Creating Frostfell Mountains

[Dralnu]

I've got another session of my homebrew campaign coming up. This time, our heroes are heading over to Frostfell Mountains to make contact with a mysterious group called the Knights of the Sacred Seal. Unfortunately, the journey is quite perilous...

The adventuring group is four lvl 8's and overall a solid tier 3 in power:
Dunsten, Human Barbarian 2 / Warblade 6: Tank of the group. Smasher of the group. Likes the Bonecrusher maneuver, a lot. Often does around 40-50 damage on his swings and ignores DR. Has a toned down version of the Mineral Warrior template (DR 2, Natural Armor +2)

Jimmy, Halfling Rogue 5 / Assassin 3: Sneaky scout, silent killer, and trap disabler. Uses his anklet of translocation and rogue's blade to teleport all over the place.

Don, Human Favored Soul 8: Support. Likes combat control. Favorite spell is Summon Undead II for skeletal owlbears. Also likes Dispel Magic. Can fly.

Syn, Drow Scout 8: Sneakiest scout of the group. Often hides / moves silently / spots / listens for 30ish. Has a +1 Seeking Spellstoring Composite Bow that usually holds dispel magic.

Halfling Settlement:
The PCs have already mentioned that they want to stock up on supplies first before entering the arctic mountains, which is wise. This settlement will serve that purpose.

I envision this as a gypsy settlement at the base of the mountain range. I doubt the PCs will spend much time here so I'll likely improv the majority of the details.

Stuff that I'll sell here:
1) Basic adventuring gear items from the PHB and Frostburn
- Most importantly cold weather outfits and (maybe) fur clothing. That gives them level 1-2 protection from cold.

2) A famous dagger-throwing halfling selling his famous brand.
- Gotta have a light weapon for the frost worm fight!
- Garen Eastwind (RotW p139) challenges the PCs to a dagger-throwing contest, if they win they get a +1 returning dagger as the prize

3) A tome of knowledge arcana +2 and a tome of knowledge nature +2
- Illustrated Atlas of Arctic Fauna, Flora and Enviroments (nature +4 in arctic environments, +2 elsewhere)
- A Beginner's Guide to Arcane Magic (+2)
- 75gp each

Any suggestions on what else to sell or things of note here would be appreciated.

The Lawful Good Escort
- also stocking up at the halfling settlement
- a lawful good messenger of a powerful group of celestials is on his way to the Order of the Sacred Seal
- wants to hire the PCs to help him stop the frost giants from conquering the area
- since the PCs have no idea how to find the Order, it's in their best interest to help him out
- if killed, beacon shoots up, heavens split open, and a Celestial Death Squad is sent after the PCs

If the PCs kill him and then enter frostfell mountains, they'll eventually get a whispering wind message (Orthos vestige ability) telling them where to go to meet the Knights of the Sacred Seal.

Human Village
Inuit-style village in frostfell that the PCs can go to for shelter, information about the lands, and get supplies. Not sure how to liven this up.

- possible shark-fighting to earn the respect of the elders
- vendor sells or tells the PCs where to find items made of Blue Ice / Stygian Ice etc. (frostburn p80)
- tells them that they've lost communication with their neighbors, know frost giants are behind it
- not afraid of the frost giants, believe that the land beneath them is holy and the frost giants won't attack, ancestors protect them
- PCs feel uneasy standing here (mild consecration effect)
- place is overcrowded due to refugees

Amphibious Frost Worm
- PCs fight dire animals on a frozen lake in a snowstorm
- mid-fight the animals start backing away and look nervous
- the worm starts punching holes through the ice, swallowing up whomever it can
- if adjacent to the worm's entrance, balance check DC 10 or fall into the water
- omnomnom!

White Dragon
- Old (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/monsters/dragonTrue.htm) (CR 15)
- treasure (Draconomicon p283)
- is in partnership with the frost giants, gives clutches of white dragon eggs to them in exchange for services / treasure
- guarded by two Ice Golems (frostburn p138)
- lair entrance is an ice tunnel on a steep slope
- leads to a massive ice pit
- beside the ice pit is a pressure plate that activates a trap to knock the PCs into the pit (not sure what trap yet, advice?)
- Ice Golems also are "hidden" in the ice walls beside the pressure plate
- when PCs pass by, the golems activate, press the plate and bull rush them into the pit
- the golems fight the PCs in the pit while the dragon emerges, stays on the pit walls, and breaths down on all of them

Frost Giants
- 3 varieties (frostburn p133)
- 1 variety (http://www.dandwiki.com/wiki/SRD:Frost_Giant)
- looking to re-establish ancient kingdom
- one warband led by a charismatic leader is slowly uniting the rest, using his power new ally the white dragon
- maybe an encounter on an Ice Bridge (toll bridge)?

Snow Weird
- tells the PCs where to find the Order
- gives a cryptic prophecy


Those are all my ideas for now. Help always appreciated!

[LOTRfan]

White Dragon
NEED TO DO THIS! We never fight dragons in our campaigns and it would be totally epic. What age category should it be? What tactics / environment should it use? What would its lair be like? What would its treasure be like? I definitely need help with this one.

White Dragons are fun, especially if you play up the fact that they are more animalistic than their chromatic kin. I suggest one young adult, or two juveniles.


Frost Giants
There's one in MM and three other varieties in Frostburn, all CR-appropriate for my group, awesome! Not sure how to introduce them into the plot. Maybe a warband or settlement? Maybe collecting "tribute" from other humanoids? An ambush atop an Ice Bridge on the PCs?

I like the "fallen empire" approach from Eberron, myself. Maybe make some gigantic ruins, and have the Frost Giants guard them. Perhaps these giants are attempting to reconstruct their empire by re-annexing small villages on the mountains.


Frostfolk
Maybe some of these too. Maybe they're the "Inuit" settlement the PCs come across, or a barbaric antagonizing community.

Never heard of them. Can you list the source?

[LansXero]

Halfling Settlement:
The PCs have already mentioned that they want to stock up on supplies first before entering the arctic mountains, which is wise. This settlement will serve that purpose.

Stuff that I'll sell here:
1) Basic adventuring gear items from the PHB and Frostburn
Most importantly cold weather outfits and (maybe) fur clothing. That gives them level 1-2 protection from cold.

It would be interesting if you could also put up some stuff made from the special materials in Frostburn. Blue Ice and Stygian Ice are interesting and really, where else would you use something made of ice if not in the frostfell? :D


2) A famous dagger-throwing halfling selling his famous brand.
Gotta have a light weapon for the frost worm fight!

Make it a challenge and if they win they get a signature one with some enchantment or something. Whenever a PC hears "he is a famous guy" he thinks "I can take him". So let him.


3) A tome of knowledge arcana +2 and a tome of knowledge nature +2
My group is entirely lacking in knowledge checks and that hurts plot development. How much should these be priced at?

Id make it +4 but for situational uses; the first would be a book on curses, fortunetelling and wishes-gone wrong, the other pretty much an Illustrated Atlas of Arctic Fauna, Flora and Enviroments. Price them as a normal +2 to an skill item, I guess, but make them better when used for their specific content.




Human Village
Inuit-style village in frostfell that the PCs can go to for shelter, information about the lands, and get supplies. Not sure how to liven this up.


Shark-fighting! humans eat seals, and so do sharks. So you get to punch out a shark to get the seal. Anyways, make it clear how harsh living in such extreme conditions is, and how every day is a challenge to just go to bed in one piece. They'll apreciate the villagers more that way, I guess.


Wendigo
I always liked the aboriginal stories of the Wendigo and this looks like a nice spot to add it. I picture a monster infecting humanoids with the curse of the wendigo, picking up the PCs scent, stalking them, trying to bring them into the fold. Maybe better suited for a different campaign though.

Even if you dont use it, they are strangers to a wilderness environment. Making them feel stalked and unwelcome is a good idea, and it would make them feel removed from their safety zone (wherever that is) as extreme locations should. Perhaps even better if they never see the stalker. It couldve been anything. Like:


Frost Worm
I want to throw one at the PCs but I'm a little afraid of its Death Throes. What's the best environment for one to optimize its combat capabilities?

Thin, breaking, slippery ice. And low visibility snowstorm. On which the PCs are already in combat with wolves or running from mammoths or trying to avoid whatever was stalking them in the snowstorm. Then one of them gets snatched.


White Dragon
NEED TO DO THIS! We never fight dragons in our campaigns and it would be totally epic. What age category should it be? What tactics / environment should it use? What would its lair be like? What would its treasure be like? I definitely need help with this one.

Check CR in the SRD and make it in line with your PCs. Exploit their walk-on-ice ability as much as you can to make your PCs life harder; add snowbolds (snow kobolds, see?) to distract and wear them (also to aid in action economy), and remember to make it clear that THEY are the prey. Treasure in a dragon's hoard is outlined in Dragonomicon I think? Im sure ive seen it somewhere.


Frost Giants
There's one in MM and three other varieties in Frostburn, all CR-appropriate for my group, awesome! Not sure how to introduce them into the plot. Maybe a warband or settlement? Maybe collecting "tribute" from other humanoids? An ambush atop an Ice Bridge on the PCs?

Make them appear heavily armed and armored in the distance riding mammoths. Make them terrible and menacing, and when the PCs eventually kill them, tell them they were simply herding their mammoth cattle around. I just like making Giants a sort of lost-empire / noble savage hybrid. Big, slow, strong creatures who also consider the world with calm and parsimony.




Frostfolk
Maybe some of these too. Maybe they're the "Inuit" settlement the PCs come across, or a barbaric antagonizing community.

Maybe Yakfolk?


Those are all my ideas for now. Help always appreciated![/QUOTE]

[Dralnu]

White Dragons are fun, especially if you play up the fact that they are more animalistic than their chromatic kin. I suggest one young adult, or two juveniles.

Wow, they really do have low INT/WIS scores compared to the rest. An Old (CR15) one is only about as smart as a human. I'll have to play on that.


I like the "fallen empire" approach from Eberron, myself. Maybe make some gigantic ruins, and have the Frost Giants guard them. Perhaps these giants are attempting to reconstruct their empire by re-annexing small villages on the mountains.

I like this. I don't want to derail the party too far from the main quest, but if my chaotic evil PCs feel obliged to start murdering giants then I'll build them up with this angle.


Never heard of them. Can you list the source?

Frostburn p130. Evil humanoids that live in cold environments.


It would be interesting if you could also put up some stuff made from the special materials in Frostburn. Blue Ice and Stygian Ice are interesting and really, where else would you use something made of ice if not in the frostfell? :D

Excellent suggestion! I'll add these items to the humanoid settlement inside Frostfell Mountains.


Make it a challenge and if they win they get a signature one with some enchantment or something. Whenever a PC hears "he is a famous guy" he thinks "I can take him". So let him.

Knife throwing contest! Done! Are there rules for this or will I just assign arbitrary DCs for the targets and make it a DEX check?


Id make it +4 but for situational uses; the first would be a book on curses, fortunetelling and wishes-gone wrong, the other pretty much an Illustrated Atlas of Arctic Fauna, Flora and Enviroments. Price them as a normal +2 to an skill item, I guess, but make them better when used for their specific content.

I love this. Do you know where I can find the prices for +2 skill items?


Shark-fighting! humans eat seals, and so do sharks. So you get to punch out a shark to get the seal. Anyways, make it clear how harsh living in such extreme conditions is, and how every day is a challenge to just go to bed in one piece. They'll apreciate the villagers more that way, I guess.

This could let the PCs show off how strong they are. I may do this.


Thin, breaking, slippery ice. And low visibility snowstorm. On which the PCs are already in combat with wolves or running from mammoths or trying to avoid whatever was stalking them in the snowstorm. Then one of them gets snatched.

Hmmm, I'm not sure. Wouldn't thin ice hurt the frost worm more than the PCs since it's huge? And does it have an advantage in a snowstorm? Having dire animals attacking the PCs and then running scared when the worm approaches would be a badass intro though.


Check CR in the SRD and make it in line with your PCs. Exploit their walk-on-ice ability as much as you can to make your PCs life harder; add snowbolds (snow kobolds, see?) to distract and wear them (also to aid in action economy), and remember to make it clear that THEY are the prey. Treasure in a dragon's hoard is outlined in Dragonomicon I think? Im sure ive seen it somewhere.

I'm thinking Old (CR 15). Not sure how to best use its ice walk ability though.

Hoard found in Draconomicon, thanks!


Updating the first post now with more fleshed out ideas.

[LansXero]

I love this. Do you know where I can find the prices for +2 skill items?

In the DMG; I think its bonus squared x 100. May be a thousand, not 100% sure. Its near the end of the book.


Hmmm, I'm not sure. Wouldn't thin ice hurt the frost worm more than the PCs since it's huge? And does it have an advantage in a snowstorm? Having dire animals attacking the PCs and then running scared when the worm approaches would be a badass intro though.

If I remember correctly, frost worms are cold-inmune, and as such wouldnt mind freezing water; however the PCs would. Make it amphibious (do they even breath anyways?) and have it punch through the ice, sending PCs scattering. The snowstorm is just so they dont know it IS a worm; simply that something big punched through the ice, they cant see anyone else, and they heard gushy swallowy sounds :O


I'm thinking Old (CR 15). Not sure how to best use its ice walk ability though.

Breathing downwards on PCs while standing in a vertical slope. A cone is a 3D construct, so the impact area when done from above is quite big. :D

[Dralnu]

Amphibious Frost Worm it is! Now with swim speed :smallbiggrin:

Okay, so the White Dragon's lair will be a steep ice tunnel. Midway through the tunnel is a huge ice pit where two ice golems wait in "hiding" (blending in with the walls). When the PCs pass, the golems move, hit the plate to activate a trap that pushes the PCs into the pit, and then try to bull rush anyone who didn't fall into it as well. The dragon then appears, stays on the pit's tall ice walls, and uses its breath attack on everyone, healing the golems in the process. Even if the battle doesn't work well for the dragon, he can still withdraw easily.

[Swooper]

I love this. Do you know where I can find the prices for +2 skill items?
Player's Handbook. They're called "masterwork" :smalltongue: 50gp each, maybe bump it up to 60-75gp if you include the situational bonuses for specific things too.

[Dralnu]

This session will be happening next week so I started preparing again. I added this part to it:

The Lawful Good Escort
- also stocking up in the halfling settlement
- a lawful good messenger of a powerful group of celestials
- on his way to a Snow Weird to learn more about "recent signs of doom"
- wants to hire the PCs to help him stop the frost giants from conquering the area, in return will lead them to the Snow Weird
- if killed, beacon shoots up, heavens split open, and a Celestial Death Squad is sent after the PCs

Snow Weird
- tells the PCs where to find the Order
- gives a cryptic prophecy

This should tie in everything I've got so far. I wanted the PCs to fight a dragon and I also wanted a Celestial Death Squad to chase after them at some point, so there's motivation for both.

I see it happening like this:
- PCs make a stop at the halfling village for supplies
- lawful good escort approaches them for help against frost giants for location of Snow Weird
- they go to frostfell mountains, fight frost worm
- stock up at inuit village
- defeat giants + dragons
- meet up with weird
- go to Order



A couple more issues:
1) Not sure whether or not the messenger should be a combatant or not. I'd prefer him not to be, but I don't know how strong my encounters are at the moment.
2) Snow Weirds want "gifts" for prophecy. What "gifts" should the PCs be expected to bring?
3) I want to Snow Weird to give a cryptic prophecy of things to come. Specifically, this:
The PCs may not understand it yet, but they're on a path to resurrect Tenebrous, Orcus' deity form and a god of death / god-killer / ender of the world. On the flip side, they're likely the only ones who can stop it. The Order of the Sacred Seal was created specifically to prevent Tenebrous from coming back.
What should the Weird say about this?